Disaster Recovery » Disaster Recovery Plans

The tragic events in Florida point up again the fact that adverse events, whether weather related or manmade are an unavoidable part of life for individuals and communities. However, it is through planning, preparation, practice and unfortunately experience that the communities of Lake, Brevard and Volusia County turn tragedy into triumph with their rapid response, their professional caring and their ability to keep needs from exceeding resources, in short, they diverted large scale disaster.

To be certain, the severe weather and tornadoes that ravaged Lake, Brevard and Volusia County were tragedies on an individual and even local basis. Lives were lost. Homes destroyed. Businesses leveled. On the other hand, Lake, Brevard and Volusia County are served by some of the best first responders, search and rescue, emergency management and disaster response professionals in the State of Florida and in the nation. Storms have struck in the wee early morning hours and caused large swathes of devastation, these were answered by professionals who were on the road before daylight even broke. Within hours, the overall damages had been assessed. Urban search and rescue was on the job before the fog had even fully burnt off and had been stood down, having completed their task by 4:00 p.m.

To be sure, there will be an ongoing recovery efforts in Florida, but it is through planning and preparation that this community, vulnerable at a higher degree than most, due to the large number of manufactured homes and its own beautiful lake dotted landscape, completed its recovery phase in such a short time.

The disaster lifecycle consists of four phases:
* Interphase
* The Adverse Event
* The Response Phase
* The Recovery Phase

The interphase is that period beginning at the end of the previous recovery and continuing until the next adverse event. It is during this phase that planning, preparation, practice and review occur. Resources are amassed and professional community education are advanced. It is during the interphase that the ability to respond to the next adverse event is determined.

The adverse event is a discreet moment in time, when adversity strikes, but Lake, Brevard and Volusia County when severe storms and tornadoes represented a discreet moment when disaster responses began and damages were mitigated, but the adverse event itself could not be prevented. New early detection equipment and the newest of Doppler radars have afforded the people of Lake, Brevard and Volusia County a small but expanded window of time to see shelter and begin and activate their disaster plans. Less than a decade ago, the warnings would have been measured in minutes, now they are measured in minutes to hours.

The response phase begins at the moment that the adverse event strikes and continues until needs no longer exceed resources. Thanks to the dedicated professionals of Lake, Brevard Volusia County, excellent disaster planning, extensive disaster preparedness, adequate practice and unfortunately hard earned experience, the response in Florida was short lived. By sundown on the first day, the majority of the response phase has been completed and recovery has actually begun. The usual community or countywide disaster lasts three to seven days, before the response is completely shutdown and certainly the response in Lake County and Volusia County will continue in earnest for at least that long. However, most experts agree that recovery cannot begin in the first three days, yet Lake County and Volusia County were already calling in recovery professionals by midday on the first day of their response. Their recovery plans were already in full swing by nightfall.

Recovery begins with good planning and certainly this is an exampled of just such a recovery.

The people of Lake, Brevard and Volusia County, Florida, are to be admired for the professionalism, the bravery and the strength in which they have faced their most recent tragedies. While they suffered personal disasters, they staved off countywide and regional disaster and even communitywide catastrophe. They insured that resources exceeded needs and that the ability to respond was never lost.

On official appeared on television, shortly after the tragic event of the morning and asked that those listening on the radio and watching on television remember the people of Lake, Brevard and Volusia County in their prayers. I would add that we not only extend prayer, but congratulations and admiration to two counties and multiple communities that have learned the lesson that we all must learn: Plan, Prepare, Educate, Respond and Recover to Save Lives and Livelihoods.

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is co-founder of Disaster Life Support of North America, Inc., a national provider of Disaster Preparation, Planning, Response and Recovery education. Through his consulting firm High Alert, LLC., he serves on expert panels for pandemic preparedness and healthcare surge planning with Congressional and Cabinet Members. Board certified in multiple medical specialties, Dr. Ramirez is Founding Chairperson of the American Board of Disaster Medicine and a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer for the Department of Homeland Security. Cited in 24 textbooks with numerous published articles, he is co-creator of C5RITICAL and author of Mastery Against Adversity. Dr. Ramirez invites comments at: http://www.disaster-blog.com

Source: www.articlecity.com